Alain Billard

Born in 1971, Alain Billard began playing the clarinet at the age of five with Nino Chiarelli at the Ecole de musique de Chartres. He continued his studies with Richard Vieille at the Conservatoire National de Région de Paris (CNR) then at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon and obtained the Diplôme d'Etudes Supérieures in Jacques Di Donato's class.

He joins the Nocturnal Wind Quintet with whom he obtains a First Prize in Chamber Music at the Lyon Conservatory and Second Prize at the ARD International Competition in Munich.

Since 1995, Alain Billard has been a member of the Ensemble intercontemporain where he plays bass clarinet (also playing clarinet, basset-horn and contrabass clarinet).

Regularly in contact with musicians from various backgrounds, he is expanding his experience and his instrumental palette and is learning tuba, saxophone and bass guitar. He recorded Mit Ausdruck, concerto for bass clarinet and orchestra by Bruno Mantovani with Jonathan Nott and the Bamberger Symphoniker, premiered Generation, a triple concerto for three clarinets by Jean-Louis Agobet, with Michel Portal, Paul Meyer and the Orchestre National de Strasbourg conducted by Jan Latam Koening and François-Xavier Roth, Machine for Contacting the Dead by Lisa Lim, for double bass clarinet, cello and ensemble with the Ensemble intercontemporain and Jonathan Nott.

He also actively participates in the Ensemble's educational activities aimed at young audiences and future music professionals.

Photo credit: Henri SELMER Paris